A week ago we went to see Simon Stephen’s play entitled ‘Pornography’. I didn’t quite know what to expect from a title like this and I have to admit that even after having seen it, I cannot seem to make a connection. Maybe it won’t keep me from understanding bits of the play itself.
On the theatre’s website it reads that the play centres on three main events, the Live 8 concert, London winning the rights to organize the Olympic Games in 2012 and the July 7 bombings in the underground. These events are mentioned constantly by the characters in the play; however, I think that none of these things have anything to do with what it really is about: monotonic everyday life of common people, and the way they experience it. We learn about the characters’ hidden aggressions, fears, sometimes filthy desires, and inner selves. All of them seem to be deeply disappointed in life as such, dwelling in their own problems and never care about anything else. Even one of the terrorists himself appears, and being a terrorist apparently doesn’t make him less human than the others in the play. He is just like anyone else, struggling with himself and the world.
To create a disturbing feeling (at least in me) the play uses visual and sound effects and also an enormous amount of repetition and cursing in the text itself. The glass dividers hung from above at certain points of the stage also emphasize the phenomenon of being estranged from everything and everyone. Most of the characters don’t interact with each other directly, if they talk to each other they are standing on the opposite sides of the glass wall. If they do meet however, it always ends up badly, abusing each other.
In this respect ‘Pornography’ reminded me of a movie, ‘Crash’ I saw a couple of years ago. As the title already suggests, it’s about how people don’t interact with each other properly any more, they merely crash when their ways meet but then they go on and that’s it.
Maybe pornography refers to the repressed aggression that lives in all of us and is unleashed when we ‘crash’. Maybe it’s just a catching title to bring us viewers into the theatre. My verdict is that it’s worth giving this play a try though you’ll most probably leave the theatre with mixed feelings.
On the theatre’s website it reads that the play centres on three main events, the Live 8 concert, London winning the rights to organize the Olympic Games in 2012 and the July 7 bombings in the underground. These events are mentioned constantly by the characters in the play; however, I think that none of these things have anything to do with what it really is about: monotonic everyday life of common people, and the way they experience it. We learn about the characters’ hidden aggressions, fears, sometimes filthy desires, and inner selves. All of them seem to be deeply disappointed in life as such, dwelling in their own problems and never care about anything else. Even one of the terrorists himself appears, and being a terrorist apparently doesn’t make him less human than the others in the play. He is just like anyone else, struggling with himself and the world.
To create a disturbing feeling (at least in me) the play uses visual and sound effects and also an enormous amount of repetition and cursing in the text itself. The glass dividers hung from above at certain points of the stage also emphasize the phenomenon of being estranged from everything and everyone. Most of the characters don’t interact with each other directly, if they talk to each other they are standing on the opposite sides of the glass wall. If they do meet however, it always ends up badly, abusing each other.
In this respect ‘Pornography’ reminded me of a movie, ‘Crash’ I saw a couple of years ago. As the title already suggests, it’s about how people don’t interact with each other properly any more, they merely crash when their ways meet but then they go on and that’s it.
Maybe pornography refers to the repressed aggression that lives in all of us and is unleashed when we ‘crash’. Maybe it’s just a catching title to bring us viewers into the theatre. My verdict is that it’s worth giving this play a try though you’ll most probably leave the theatre with mixed feelings.
3 comments:
Dear Dóri,
I love your blog, it is really beautiful. I think it's best one I've seen so far. I'm on blogspot too and I was wondering if you could tell from where I can get an original background like this (not the ones the site offers)?
Thanks! :)
Hello Kata, thanks for the really nice comment :)
I tried to leave this comment on your blog but I had problems with the captcha so I'm leaving it here, hopefully you'll notice it :)
What I did was I googled 'blogger templates', the one that I'm using comes from this site: http://btemplates.com/ Hope this is helpful, see you tomorrow (ok, technically today...)
Thanks for the idea! Actually I've already changed my background since. Check it out. :)
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